Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – East Stroudsburg University rallied from a 16-point deficit with 16 minutes left and held off Philadelphia University down the stretch for a 55-53 upset in non-conference women's basketball early Friday evening at the Gallagher Center.

Senior guard Cyara Woodridge (17 points, 10 rebounds) and freshman forward Jessica Martin (12 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks) both had double-doubles for ESU (4-6), which ended a four-game losing streak by handing Philadelphia (8-4) just its fourth loss of the season.

The Warriors trailed by nine (29-20) at halftime and faced a 40-24 deficit with after a jumper by Christine Wooding, who led the Rams with 14 points, with just under 16 minutes remaining.

That proved to be Philadelphia's last field goal until there was less than a minute left, as ESU climbed within one possession with 7:50 left, tied it at 43-all with 3:51 remaining and captured its first lead of the game a minute later.

In all, ESU used a 28-6 run to take a 52-46 lead on a layup by Martin with just under a minute to go, but the game was tied at 52-all a moment later after back-to-back three-pointers by Samantha Morris and Taylor Peltzer around an ESU turnover.

The Warriors regained the lead on two free throws by junior forward Fayola Moise (10 points, seven rebounds) with 19 seconds left. A loose ball foul sent Stephanie Ager to the foul line for the Rams, and she missed the first and made the second to trim ESU's lead to 54-53.

After another foul, Moise missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Morris turned it over and freshman guard Ryann Fiascki made one-of-two at the line to give ESU a 55-53 edge with eight seconds left. Philadelphia pushed the ball into the frontcourt but Ager missed the game-tying shot in the lane at the buzzer.

ESU trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half after falling behind 8-0 following the opening tip, but played the Rams even for the last 17 minutes of the first half. Woodridge eight of ESU's final 10 points of the half after Philadelphia led 24-10 with seven minutes left.

An 11-4 run in the first four minutes of the second half gave Philadelphia its largest lead, but the Warriors did a great job at the defensive end and got three-pointers on consecutive possessions from Fiascki and junior guard Barb Borst to pull within 42-35 with 11:25 left.

The three-pointers jumpstarted a 12-0 run as the Warriors trimmed the deficit to 42-41 on a layup by Woodridge with 7:11 to play. It was 43-41 after the Rams split a pair at the line, and neither team scored for the next three minutes until Martin tied it on a jumper just under the four-minute mark.

Woodridge gave ESU the lead with a layup on an assist from Fiascki, then knocked down a jumper for a 47-43 lead on the next possession. Two free throws by Kristen Blye made it 47-45 with just under two minutes to go, but sophomore guard Andrea Veres drilled a huge three-pointer to put the Warriors in front 50-45 with 1:30 remaining to set up the finish.

Woodridge had her third career double-double and and Martin notched her second and also tied her season and career-high with five blocked shots for ESU, which won for the first time since a 64-55 victory at Slippery Rock on December 3.

Moise scored 10 points and Fiascki and Veres added five points each as the starters scored 49 of ESU's 55 points. Veres also had five of the Warriors' 12 assists.

Wooding (14 points, 10 rebounds), Blye (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Peltzer (10 points) led the scoring for Philadelphia, which was coming off an 83-31 win over Washington Adventist and had won five of its last six games.

Both teams shot about 35 percent, with ESU going 23-for-64 and Philadelphia going 18-for-51. Philadelphia was 13-for-23 at the foul line compared to 5-for-9 for ESU, and both teams made four three-pointers.

The Warriors were outrebounded by 11 in the first half but finished the game with a 42-40 advantage which included 19 offensive rebounds – 13 in the second half. Martin had eight points and eight rebounds in the second half and Woodridge scored nine points in the second stanza.

ESU finishes its PSAC crossover schedule with trips to Lock Haven and defending PSAC champion Edinboro on January 6-7 before opening the PSAC East schedule at home against Mansfield on Wednesday, January 11. The Warriors are 1-5 in the PSAC entering the new year.